Saturday, October 09, 2010

What is left to say?

The defense played well considering the final score. The offensive line improved. The problem remains at QB. I understand that we have two bad options. But it is up to the staff to find something that works and also know when to pull the plug on one guy. Shinskie clearly didn't have it today. Did we have to give him so many possessions? If they still don't feel Rettig is mobile enough to play then I think you have to consider everything. Bordner? Flutie? Boek? A walkon. Whatever. But the whole thing is frustrating and makes these games hard to watch.

Hopefully watching it back will provide a few more slivers of hope. Grades and second viewing thoughts will be up late Sunday night.

70 comments:

- There's a reason every Kickoff is aimed at Fox- Nice late TD by Amidon, but he gives me the impression he has vertigo - always awkward. I can't believe he is better than Lindsay, Lee, and Flutie. Unless we really want to develop the future.- Still need more tight end usage- When we intercept the ball, the defender needs to work his ass off to score. Don't leave it to the offense, get every yard you can.- We're the new Duke. Think Syracuse is licking their chops?

"IF" we can get good play from Rettig, we can get out of the cellar. There's other pieces in place.

Sure the offense was horrible. But so was the defense. Wilson and Glennon completed about 75% of their passes. wow! That is terrible and they did so for 334 yards and 411 yards in total offense. Very little pass pressure. That is not acceptable defense.

Keuchley had a ton of tackles but many of them were after 8 and 10 yard gains. Herzy? Did not notice him much today.

Erik, I noticed that there was very little rhyme or reason in the receivers on the field at a given time. I think it may have just been luck that Amidon was the receiver on that play who's number came up on Tranquils Bingo tumbler.

Mod, did you not see Herzlich with the 1 handed interception? The club on his left hand not only hurt his tackling, but added extra pounds that he has to lug around each play. Of course he'll be slightly less effective.

Our bend but dont break defense only works if we assume our offense can outscore the other team's kicker and defense.

The defense wasn't terrible. It wasn't outstanding, but they played well enough to win that game. Not only were a lot of points given up by offense and Special Teams, but you can't discount the physical and mental fatigue of having an offense that inept.

I can't remember feeling so hopeless when the offense has the ball. I have zero faith that we score with either of them behind center.

As a BC fan I'm used to being disappointed. However, I'm not used to being embarrassed. Heads need to roll now, or at the end of the season. Be it Tranq, Spaziani or GDF, one or all need to go to get a dime from me for the Flynn Fund.

Doubt there will be a midseason fire of Tranq until the Rettig situation plays out. Any chance of a midseason Hire? Can we get Sir Doug to come in and breathe some life in there? The middle Hasselback? Anybody with any sort of QB experience and maybe a BC tie? Me?

Only bright spot in this season so far is at least we're not wasting a year of Larmond's eligibility on this Offensive Cluster-F. Hopefully Rettig will develop and have Larmond as a big play threat for 2 years.

That is what happens when you play that damned zone coverage. Drop everyone back, leave the underneath routes wide open, generate no pass rush, and have the opposing QB shred you. Tranquil is flat out terrible but let's not forget that BC's defensive scheme is killing them on that side of the ball as well. Thank God I didn't get to torture myself by watching the game today. Went to the Cocks-'Bama game instead. That was the best football experience of my life.

The defense wasn't as bad as some of you have suggested. Wilson threw the ball 51 times. Their running game is Wilson throwing the ball on screens. We should've been prepared for that. But that's not the reason why we lost. The defense, contrary to some posters' ignorance, is decidedly not to blame, not when the offense scores essentially 10 pts before a garbage TD late. Shinskie is awful, obviously, but with no consistent drives to eat up some clock, that's what's gonna happen. Wilson can play on Sundays. The trouble is on offense.

BC defense played today like every other Saturday. Rush four, maybe five, occasionally get some pressure, just make NCSU earn the 80 yds. The problem, again, is that our offensive playbook sucks. We don't do the underneath cross or screens when the opposing defense blitzes. The 1st half play calling wasn't bad with the play-action, but Shinskie was so inaccurate, it doesn't matter.

Our WRs get no separation b/c they aren't playmakers! You people amaze me. We need more talent. It's not just coaching. Our WR corps is so below avg for a major D1 program, it's a joke.

Bravesbill goes to a real football game and has a blast. Not shocking. Some of you need to come down here and do the same.

The defense is never going to be good when they are on the field for 60% of the game. We are in dire need of change before we go 2-10. Tranquill needs to be fired and either promote Day or Devine to O Coordinator and hire Mike Maser as the O line coach at the end of the season

Two thoughts. First, as sad as it is to point out, Herzy is nowhere near what he was in 2008. He is more of a liability than an asset out there right now. Outside of his two oskies this year he has done nothing and consistently has trouble with the short passes and qb scrambles to his side. The strongside linebacker should have more than three tackles per game. I know it’s a tough situation for Spaz because you’d hate to see Herzy benched, but at this point it is better for the team to have Morrisey at SLB. It’s a very sad situation but it’s the truth.

Second, this team has ZERO explosive playmakers right now. The couple players that we do have that will be playing on Sundays (Kueckly, Castonzo, maybe KPL) are more of the consistent, fundamental type. There is nobody like Will Blackmon, Kiwi, Dejuan Tribble, who can make explosive plays in multiple scenarios (offense/defense/special teams). The closest thing is Harris and he is being mis/under utilized.

The bright side is that it seems Spaz is turning out to be a better recruiter than both TOB and Jags and lets hope that pays dividends in the next few years. It's clear at this point that playing Shinskie or Marsco is a complete waste of time. As long as Rettig is even 75% he needs to be the QB. It might not make a difference this year but should pay dividends down the road.

We need a Harbaugh coaching this program. Flat out. The coach doesn't need to scream a la Kelly or ponder or kid around with the media--he needs a friggen' hardass chi that brings it on every play and benches whimps and plays to win. We got nothing here and all of us who are alums need to wake the hell up and see that.

Yeah, "woulda, shoulda, coulda, ...good recruits, maybe,we're rebuilding, yeah...blah, blah, blah." Where's the will to win and compete like it means something? Our coaches know how badly they're doing, believe me. They got whipped by the guy who walked away from BC. And if you didn't know this was coming this year then you were dreaming...TOB put a team together at NC State from zero and sucked it up and rebuilt a crappy program. Yeah, he made us NUTS, with his conservative Navy ball approach--but Tom won more games than any BC coach in history. The all-time winningest coach at BC. It takes time to do that... Ask yourself why? Number One: you play to compete and you get coaches around you who DELIVER. No Excuses.

Is this what we have now at Boston College? Right now we are a national news headline that starts with TOB beating us as a come-back hero...What does it take to win in the ACC? Are we doing that now? Is "The Fire to Compete" being coached at BC in Alumni Stadium? Watch Harbaugh beat USC tonight at Stanford and end the era of Stanford as Trojan Doormat. Watch the OCcalls and defensive schemes. A Big Ten coach has made the Cardinal a Contender because he coaches players to Compete On Every Play...Go Eagles! Ever to Excel! Play to Win!

All options indeed. Until Rettig is healthy you definitely need to test the capabilities of Flutie, Boek and Bordner. I wouldn't be opposed to having an open tryout for QB at BC. I know there are some former high school athletes at BC who can throw. Most likely they can't play in college but you never no until you try.

Mmason, you're either drunk or demented. That last post of yours barely passes as a coherent argument. What exactly is your point? That TOB is the better coach? Funny how you're saying this NOW right after he beat BC... on the fourth try.

Look, we all agree that Jags was a flake. And Spaz is providing more evidence that he doesn't have what it takes to be a head coach. Despite all that, I cannot believe that some people are suggesting that we should have kept TOB. I'm sure there are many reasons for this, but I bet that it is all the result of a bunch of BC fans drowning their sorrows in alcohol and wallowing in self-pity. Either that, or Greg Barber recently acquired a mind-control device in order to take over the BC blogosphere.

Our problems are all over the field but I think the O line play has been so atrocious that they hardly give the QB any time to throw and rarely create any holes for Montel. Sure Shinskie is erratic and locks onto one receiver when he does have time but we need the OLine to start creating space. Maybe a different formation in the backfield would help. More wildcat?

On another note, I'm just leaving the Swamp for the first time. Wow!! What a place!! We need to make a lot if changes to our Gameday if we want to compete with the big boys. Crazy night, awesome game.

Alex--Please tell me you don't have a BC diploma--or maybe you've got a reading disorder. I'm not saying TOB is anything than what he was--the winningest coach in BC history--and, as much as he drove us (those of us who knew his era, which would clearly exclude you)NUTS,he fielded teams that competed. (That's how those teams won, Al.) Should I put this in UPPER CASE for you so you can read it more easily? The demented one here is clearly and, sadly, you--but an education won't cure that. For your sake, I hope your condition is only temporary and due to a lack of maturity. Not once did I say let's bring Tom back--but I do believe that if we don't have some perspective on this abysmal situation in which BC football now finds itself (am I going to fast for ya, Alex?)then we won't realize that what we have now is a coaching staff that lacks the intensity and savvy to put a competitive team on the field.

In other words,these guys who are running the program are looking like LOSERS. Don't be calling people demented or drunk if you're too dull witted to comprehend the English language, Alex. And Alex, TOB took a really floundering program at NCSU and turned it around--he won't win the ACC this year, but he just put a beat down on the Eagles, whom you probably thought were headed for a title this year...so Alex, hear this: If you can't fly, don't be messin' with an Eagle that has met jive poseurs like you before. I did say we need a coach like Harbaugh, who turned Stanford into a winner with smart moves, good coaching personnel and consistent football fundamentals. Harbaugh is a Big Ten personality. A no nonsense guy who didn't go glib with the media when his team wasn't winning, and who owned the losses and never put them on his players. TOB is no Harbaugh, but he's alot closer to a winner than what we seem to have now. Capiche?

That seems to be two posters who independently feel the same way, Walter. I'm not making this stuff up. And there's nothing "alleged" about it. A quick BCS bowl record check will suffice. But whatever. I never said 'vastly.' Gameday experience? Yes. Football? Just inferior. Not vastly, though.

The defense is not the problem, Mod. Let's see some more Shinskie vs. Wilson stats from you. That's always fun.

That unit has such little margin for error. 17 points is about the threshhold. If the ship is sinking, fixing the defense is like rearranging the deck chairs. The offense is downright putrid. The Kent St. game was an indicator.

Enough of this. Onward to Tallahassee. Just looking for competitiveness at this point.

State of BC Football1. BC kicker can only reach the 10 or 15 on kickoffs2. Good opposing QB will torch the defense with screens and slants with our defensive scheme3. Our Qb is so slow and inaccurate that i would almost rather put someone fast at QB like Denard Robinson (even if the player wouldn't be as accurate even tho that is pretty impossible)4. Throw jump balls to Momah (he is 6-6 and we haven't used this advantage at all)5. Use anyone besides Chris Fox at kick returner (he is the worst kick returner in a BCS college football program)6. Start using Herz less each game because hes a liability on D7. Most importantly, have Spaz, GDF and everyone of the coaches travel to Florida, Texas, and California immediately and have them recruit some fast athletes who can become playmakers (preferably 3 star recruits and higher. No more of these clown 2 star wr's from Pennsylvania and New Jersey)

CT, Most of us northerners just have no idea what football is really about so thank you for your input. BC is so lucky to have alum like you. The southern parts of our country seem so very different than Massachusetts.

I went to the Penn State game yesterday in State College. Noon kickoff against an unranked opponent that came in with a 2-2 record (Illinois). Place was packed at kickoff, fans were rowdy, adults (not just students) making lots of noise when PSU was on defense, coordinated cheers, etc. Why won't BC fans be like that?

1. Penn State has 90,000+ total students. BC has 9,000+. If we say that 20% of all students are are hard core sports fan that means that Penn State has twice as many hard core sports fans as BC has total students.

2. As such, Penn State has roughly 10 times as many alumni.

3. I would also say that means that Penn State has ten times as many alumni within driving distance to campus as BC does.

4. There are no pro sports any where near State College.

5. As a large state college, Penn State has vastly more subway alums than a private Catholic school would have.

BC does not have the demographic and geographic profile of Penn State so why would our fan behavior be the same?

Jim-PSU has 38,000 undergrads in State College, so that's 4x BC's undergrad population, not 10x (http://www.budget.psu.edu/factbook/). Your point is well taken, though, PSU is obviously much larger.

But all of your points only support the proposition that PSU should have larger crowds than BC, which was not the subject of my initial post. I'm not talking about the size of the crowd, I'm talking about the behavior of the individual fans. PSU's student enrollment statistics do not explain why its adult fans stand up and cheer for their team with an enthusiasm rarely seen from BC fans.

I was using the Wikipedia stats which put Penn State at 93,000 total undergrads (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State).

Even still, I think my point holds. The fans who stand and cheer are the "hard core" fans. Penn State has more hard core fans, because they have more fans. The hard core fans are a subset of the total number of fans.

You ignore my point about the subway alumni. Penn State is filled with non-college educated fans or fans who went to other state schools who identify with Penn State as the state school. BC has none of those fans.

The more fans, the more hard core fans.

Comparing BC to any schools other than Northwestern, Duke, Wake or Vandy doesn't make much sense to me.

That is a good point. And I agree that, in general, it makes more sense to compare BC with similar schools like the ones you listed.

Sometimes I think this whole discussion begins and ends with the overall success of the program. Duke is a relatively small private school like BC, but their basketball crowds are far more lively than BC's. ND is a relatively small private Catholic school like BC, but their football fans seem more lively and committed to cheering, etc. than BC's. Of course, both Duke basketball and ND football are generally more competitive than BC in their respective sports.

But then I look at our hockey games. We have always been one of the nation's top programs, and although we draw decent crowds (in terms of size), it's like a morgue in Conte many nights.

There just seems to be a "sit down, shut up" culture at BC games across the board, which is very frustrating.

MMason, okay so it wasn't a fluke. You really are demented. Thanks for clearing that up.

So let me see if I have this right:

1) TOB is the winningest coach in BC history.

2) While TOB was far from perfect, he was alot better than the current head coach.

3) He is successfully turning NCST around.

4) Harbaugh shows some promise at Stanford. TOB, at NCST, seems to be delivering in the same way.

What else could someone possibly conclude from all of this other than either you think TOB should be rehired, or he at least never should have been fired in the first place?

That was the conclusion that I drew from your posts. If that's not what you're saying, then why are you spending so much time talking about TOB?

My point was that you are the one lacking perspective. I didn't hear TOB's name mentioned once before this game. And now that we lost to him, he's suddenly trotted out as an example of a good head coach. This just shows that people are upset about losing to him, which is understandable, but doesn't foster any sort of advanced knowledge of whom the next BC coach should be.

If you had been saying since 2007 (like Greg Barber and a few others) that TOB was a good coach, then I would buy what you're selling. But that's not the case.

And by the way, I do have a BC diploma. It's hanging on the wall right above the shrine to Matt Ryan that I have set up on a small bookshelf. If you don't have a shrine to Matty Ice, then you should be ashamed of yourself.

It all comes back to coaching. There is no sense of accountability coming from this coaching staff. I don't get the sense that the coaches take the losses and mistakes personally or that they demand the players to do so. Say what you will about Jags (and I'm not saying it was a mistake to fire him), but he was never afraid to get in a player's face for making a mistake and he was never afraid to celebrate with a player that made a great play. There was an energy on his sideline, even after Matt left, and that energy was obviously missing as soon as Spaz took over.

It's hard to not lay this all at Spaz's feet and he's the one that has to take responsibility. Week in and week out it looks like this coaching staff is less interested in winning than in avoiding embarassing losses. Well, you've succeeded on all fronts, guys. This team is embarassingly bad. He's the one that hired Tranquill and that looked like a massive mistake from the very beginning. He's the one that encourages a hugely conservative game-plan in all phases: offense, defense, and special teams. Consequently, this team has no play-makers anywhere and seemingly no interest in developing any.

Honestly, this "improved recruiting" everyone is talking about isn't going to matter a whit if the position coaching continues to be so abysmal. Quarterbacks incapable of making a simple dump-off throw. Offensive linemen unable to block a four-man front. Receivers that run bad routes. Linebackers that miss tackles because they don't wrap up. Safeties who ignore deep receivers. Corners who give a ten-yard cushion on 3rd-and-four. These are fundamentally coaching issues. These are issues that have gotten worse over the course of Spaziani's tenure even as many of the same players remain in the starting lineup. Problems so systemic can only be blamed on one person: the head coach.

Here is the good news. There are a lot of us who really care about BC Football. I am sick over this season. Do you think GDF reads this blog? He must. Gene, if you are reading these comments -- we care. We love BC football or I care more about the Eagles than the Pats. This can be a great football program! We are not asking for a national championship. Just ranked in the top 25 every year. Gene, if you are reading I am sending out a SOS. Please help.

Ha, Shinskie is blaming the coaches and the coaches are blaming Shinskie. Not good.

Very curious to hear down the road what the inside debate looks like right now. Is GDF coming down hard on Spaz and preparing to force his hand on firing assistants? Or have the coaches sat down and said, "Listen Gene, Shinskie is legitimately dumb as a bag of rocks and Marsco was recruited as a 4th string option. Give us some time with Chase."

Either way, a party line needs to be established and pushed publicly. This train is barely hanging on to the rails.

In my view, this mess is on GDF. I think the problem goes back to the Jags hire. He just hired the wrong guy. I thought then and I think now that hiring a can do guy like Mark Whipple, who had tremendous success everywhere he worked (turned Brown into an Ivy contender, won a national championship at UMass, won a Super Bowl with the Steelers, currently OC of Miami). Whipple wanted the BC job and briefly was the front runner until GDF's ego got in the way, and he went with the unproven Jags. Yes, Jags had a big year with probably the most loaded returning BC team since the early 1990s, and then followed that with a relatively strong performance in a very down ACC. However, Jags had "Midwest" and "NFL" written all over his forehead when BC hired him, so it was no surprise to me that he started looking around at the earliest opportunity. So GDF cans him and hires Spaz in a panic/stability of the program move. Is it a surprise that a career assistant is struggling? Not to me. Is everyone here too young to remember Steve Cedorchuk? In 2 sorry seasons he coached BC hockey into the ground in the early 1990s, after serving as a longtime assistant (sound familiar?) to 400-game winner Lenny Ceglarski. BC made the decision then that 2 years was enough and canned him. Who was hired after that? Jerry York. Nuff said. There is an expression, "whatever has to be done eventually should be done immediately," and I think that applies to Spaz, as it applied to Cedorchuk. Let Spaz play out the rest of the year, and if the train wreck continues, GDF should own up to his mistakes and cut him loose.

Speaking of cutting people loose, is it time to question GDF's tenure? Just throwing it out there. You can't argue with his overall stewardship of the BC athletic programs during his tenure, but we have seen him let proven winners go (TOB, Skinner, Inglese). Each time I said the same thing, on the one hand things things had gotten a little stale under all of them, and on the other hand you have to be careful what you wish for. GDF apprently felt BC could do better with someone else. Maybe someone above GDF is thinking BC can do better with someone else at AD. Just sayin'.

Actually, Alex, my shrine is to Sir Doug Flutie, Duke of Natick who actually won the Heisman and led BC to it's greatest end-of-season ranking in the modern era. Loved Matty Ice, but Flutie was a better and more exciting college player.

Following up on my prior post, below is a description of the Steve Cedorchuk "experiment" I found on the Web...

Jerry York came to Boston College as head coach in 1994. BC had been a hockey powerhouse under the legendary watch of John ("Snooks") Kelley (1932-42; 1946-72) and Len Ceglarski (1972-92), but by the early 1990s the team was struggling. In two seasons under Steve Cedorchuk (1992-94), the Eagles won only 24 of 74 games. They suffered embarrassing tournament defeats--when they managed to qualify at all. There was a scholarship scandal. Cedorchuk was fired, and the Boston Bruins' Mike Milbury arrived as Cedor-chuk's replacement--only to flee shortly thereafter, without coaching a single game. As one sportswriter put it at the outset of York's tenure, "If the time-honored adage that adversity builds character is true, BC fans entered this season with quite enough character, thank you. Can we please start having some fun?" Nobody would think of asking that question now. By early March of this year, as the postseason National College Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament began, the Eagles were ranked second in the nation. They had scored more goals per game than any other team in the country. They had just decisively beaten their archrival, Boston University, in the Beanpot tournament. They had easily won the regular-season Hockey East title; they had won the Hockey East tournament for the third time in four years; and they were headed, for the fourth straight year, to the Frozen Four--the NCAA tournament games that start with the semi-finals and end in a championship.

Firstly, don't fire Spaz. The defense is perenially strong, he is loyal (that should count for something people) and moving on to a 4th coach in 5 years would make BC an incredibly hard sell to recruit players and assistants.

Best bet, fire Tranq. Aim for a strong OC with Head Coach ambitions ala Whipple maybe Day - but this should be a broad search. Sell the position as a complete offensive reclamation project. OC will have full control over the offense.

If the OC is successful, Spaz finishes his contract (or gets a small extension) is thanked for his stewardship and the team is handed over to the OC.

CT, you didn't say vastly, fine. I admit I was annoyed because I'm sick of hearing of how much better the south has it, not necessarily from you but from plenty of friends. I've gone to the ND game twice, I'm familiar with what big school atmosphere is like. Chestnut Hill isn't like those places, sure, but it's still fine.

And in terms of quality of fb (except for where this year is headed) we've done well for ourselves. Most schools have a down year every once and a while with few exceptions.

"But then I look at our hockey games. We have always been one of the nation's top programs, and although we draw decent crowds (in terms of size), it's like a morgue in Conte many nights.

There just seems to be a "sit down, shut up" culture at BC games across the board, which is very frustrating."

Okay, DoubleEagle, obviously you've had more experience at the heights than I've had, but Conte only reaches morgue status for hockey on the nights (or Sunday afternoons - who could go to those games?) when they are truly playing no one worthwhile.

The hockey attendance was great for my four years at BC; it's an exaggeration to say morgue. And we might be good at hockey, but that doesn't mean people really care about it on a national level. Not like they do about basketball or football.

Walter, the Alumni gameday experience is not fine. It is downright embarrassing. I go to a game every year and I am always amazed at how terrible the tailgating is, how the stadium is half-empty at kick-off, and, other than the student Superfans who are terrific, how quiet the fans are. It is not a big-time college football experience and it is not good enough to attract the type of recruits that can win ACC Championships. The good news is we have the power to change the culture, as the Superfans did 10 years ago. Get in your seats for the kick-off and make some noise. That's only a start, but it's better than what we have now.

Dan--and the program as it currently sits ISN'T a hard sell? I think firing the coach looks better than NOT firing that coach after the worst season in a generation and possibly the ugliest offense EVER?

Well I've gone to every game this year so far and the tailgating was great at Notre Dame, solid at Virginia Tech, good at the home opener, and average (for us) at Kent State.

The home attendance was weak at Kent State, good for Virginia Tech, obviously sold out for Notre Dame, and passable at Weeber State.

I agree that we have the power to change our culture and also that fan enthusiasm is a good place to start. The stands are usually more quiet than they should be, but I've found that even if just a few people make noise, it usually is enough to spark the section.

I thought the experience was good enuff at the VaTech game this yr that me and a friend were going to split a donation to get parking next year. But - yikes- after the following two games, I'll hold off on season tix and a arm twist gift to the Flynn Fund

I was very surprised to see Shinskie at QB yesterday after Spaz clearly made it clear before the ND game that he did not figure in BC's plans. He's got a decent arm but his accuracy and decision making are terrible and not deserving of playing time. I'd rather see Rettig get a medical redshirt and we let one of the other backups play QB, no more of the two headed monster!

is it possible to give rettig a medical redshirt if his injury isn't severe enough to rule him out for the year? i don't know how this stuff works, but it seems a little strange to think that we would be able to

why medical redshirt rettig? he is clearly the QB of the future, get him taking snaps, get him game experience. true, this is a lost season but for spaz's sake, if rettig doesn't play this team MAY not win another game this year. worst case scenario is a 2-10 season, and i think thats likely if shinskie or marscovetra is the starting QB. i think best case scenario from this point is going 6-6, but can't see how that happens without rettig playing QB.

it would be nice to see some accountability from the BC coaches. maybe they don't have the proper media outlet to do so, since it seems liks ATLeagle is the only place that actually covers the team. BC heights does an OK job, but they are just students writing the articles. i haven't read one quote from tranquill or the o-line coach talking about how horrible they have been. in all seriousness and objectivity, there is no other way to describe the offense other than horrible. Grade: F. it looks as if they don't even practice. After VA tech you had their players on D saying "we knew what was coming every time." After NC state you have shinskie saying "they knew what was coming every time." well...why do they know these things? why hasn't tranquill even be ADDRESSED in the media by spaziani or GDF? why hasn't he lose his playcalling duties?

look, BC doesn't and i can't foresee ever have a gameday experience or football tradition to match that of the SEC schools or the schools in the south. we play in a high school stadium, we don't really have "local" fans. the city of boston hamstrings us with their tailgating restrictions, i understand all of that. it is a classic case of "it is what it is."

but it seems like spaziani and GDF do not give a damn what the fans think, and do not think the fans care. this is clearly not the case. we want at least serviceable football to watch, that is not asking too much. every now and then a diamond in the rough like ryan will slip through the cracks, wind up at BC, and we will flirt with the top 10. beyond that, we'll win more than we lose and make bowls. fine. i am honestly fine with that. to expect more from this team is irrational. but to think that we as fans are going to keep going to the games with the atrocious product that is on the field is ridiculous. GDF and spaz will both be canned if rettig gets a medical redshirt and this team farts along to a 2-10 season with an empty stadium by the time november rolls around. i am honestly hoping for another beatdown next week at the hands of FSU. they stomped miami on the road this week, playing at home against this team is going to be a bloodbath. i'm hoping for 52-10, with spaz punting on 4th and 3 from the 38 with 3 minutes left. maybe we will get some answers then.

i can't wait for basketball season. (i think donahue was a good hire btw). i won't waste another minute of my time watching this team until spaz or gene D starts talking about how they are going to fix the problems and apologizing for giving us a grade F performance against va tech, against ND, and against NC state.

Gene has had 13 years...and what to show for it? In the 2 major programs..ineptitude in football and rebuilding in hoops. We will be decent by the time his contract runs out in 2014. Fire him by the same rationale that we rightly used on Skinner. Why can't some eager MAC college take him off our hands?

Gene probably pined for 4 years to get rid of TOB and look what happened...an 8 year clusterf**k in the wake of the Jags hiring...meaning we are 3-4 years away from...wait for it...HOPE...the Spaz firing has to happen at the end of the year...he is playing a Penn St. 1970s brand of football in the 21st century.

Anyway, anyone who reads this blog deep down knows GDF is a snake oil salesman..we were the swallowing shill because we thought he would deliver. But enough is enough...clean the entire house but root for the current student athletes in all BC sports.

I'm hesitant to blame Spaz entirely for the horrendous play this season, but he has to do a better job of showing that these blowout losses affect him, more than simply saying "we have to play better." The BC fans deserve at least that much. It's kind of like being around an infant who's screaming his lungs out - the parent might not be able to quiet them, but you at least want to see them trying to do whatever they can to hush them. Otherwise it seems like they just don't care. GDF or Spaz needs to make a major move to show the fans that they are serious about winning. Whether that means firing a position coach (O-line), or the OC, something needs to be done ASAP!

Good coaches squeeze every last drop of talent out of their players. My freshman year at BC was Tom Coughlin's 2nd season. BC wasn't favored in many of those games, but we were competitive in all of them. He was able to do more with less talent than we have now. It's time for Spaz to show us that this team can at least be competitive.

All this stuff is worthy, however in looking at the whole body of work, Gene has done a good job for BC. He took a chance on Jags and it backfired. He had to fire him. I wasn't high on Spaz coming in the door, but was willing to give him a chance for the same reasons Gene probably did. Clearly, that was the biggest mistake Gene has made. Now we're on the verge of 4 coaches in 5 years but I say let's bite the bullet.

Gene deserves the opportunity to fix it and if he can't because we've got too much money out there for coaches that aren't here anymore, then that would be the reason to get rid of him. Not the current teams performance.

El Miz, I take exception to the low expectations you have for the team, unless I'm reading this wrong. I expect this team to compete for the Atlantic Division title and win it as often as anyone else in the division. I expect them to compete in the ACC Championship game and win it now and then.

If that matches up with your flirting with the top 10 and winning more often than we lose then we're on the same page. Otherwise, raise your expectations for this team.

It doesn't make any sense to be in the ACC unless we are trying to compete at the highest level.

I am no fan of anyone who allows such a precipitous drop without acknowleging responsibility - that's you, Gene.

I'm no fan of anyone who allows Tranquill to be an Offensive Coordinator - that's you, Spaz.

I am no fan of anyone who seems to blame the players rather than his coaches - that's you, Spaz. It's time to get in McGovern's face - if he doesn't respond, demote him and take back over as Defensive Coordinator - and put some pressure on the QB; get in Devine's face, etc. and it's time to fire Tranquill, because you'll have to at the end of November anyway - do it now, or your crdibility is gone.

Tranquill - you can retire at any time. If we never see you again, have a good life.

Big Jack, when someone who is as much of a "B.C. guy" as you are feels this way, then there is serious trouble afoot.

I agree completely; I've been around too long and seen us come too far to put up with the utter incompetence of Tranquill and lackadaisical attitude that we've seen from Spaz. Tranquill MUST go, and now, and Spaz shouldn't be there much longer, either.

It's time to right the ship, and I don't care if Gene falls overboard in the process.

"...Tom Coughlin's 2nd season. BC wasn't favored in many of those games, but we were competitive in all of them."

Well, except for the ND embarrassment, and Syracuse and Tennessee toyed with us as well just on sheer talent disparity. In fact, I'd make the opposite point from what you did and relate it to this year. BC became a legitimate power the next season, but that 1992 turnaround was accomplished largely on smoke and mirrors. The Penn State game was the perfect example of this, especially since it matched us against one of the great coaches and staffs in college football history. We won 8 games, and that game in particular, on scheme. On dynamite preparation by the coaching staff. Especially in the first half, Penn State was lost out there--they had no idea what was coming and got burned over and over. Even after their halftime defensive adjustments, we held on by making enough of our own to keep their winning drive from culminating.

Bill aluded to the 2008 season in the same vein in another post, coaches getting the most effectiveness out of limited resources.

Wish I could see this current BC staff exploring every angle to see if they can find something that works. The lack of bazooka, which has been noted repeatedly, is a great symbol of this. That formation is just be the tip of the iceberg in terms of trying something different, but the staff's refusal even to try IT--something they were running with regularity just last year--screams of stubbornly treading water as the floodwaters rise instead of looking for a frickin' boat. Guaranteed failure.